The present invention relates to a glove, and more particularly, to a golf glove having a removable and interchangeable fastener material.
Many golf gloves have a slit or opening in the wrist area to allow a wearer to easily slide the glove over their hand or to take it off. A lower piece of hook-and-loop type fastener material, such as VELCRO(copyright), or other type of fastener is typically sewn on one side of the slit, while a cooperating upper piece of fastener material is sewn on the other side of the slit. The upper piece overlies and connects to the lower piece to adjustably close the slit to secure the glove onto the wearer""s wrist. In the past, the upper piece has been attached to the glove by sewing it directly to the material of the glove body so that it is not removable.
The upper piece generally bears an emblem or logo on the uppermost surface. The emblems or logos displayed on these are not limited to the manufacturer""s marks, but also include those of groups or organizations, such as the wearer""s favorite sports team or league. Thus, different individuals or groups of individuals may desire their own, unique design on the upper piece of material. Additionally, golfers may wish to vary the design displayed on this piece so as to coordinate with their outfit or to correspond with an event in which they are playing. This typically requires the user to buy different gloves with different logos, which can be expensive.
While golf glove bodies are typically manufactured by mass production, the upper pieces bearing different emblems, logos, or designs must be manufactured on a custom basis based on the users"" individual orders. Since these pieces are typically sewn to the glove bodies simultaneously with the manufacture of the glove bodies, production of the glove bodies cannot begin until the upper pieces are completed. Thus, a common problem in manufacturing golf gloves is that the upper pieces and the glove bodies cannot be manufactured simultaneously and it can often take days for completion of the upper pieces before the glove bodies begin to be mass produced. As a result, the final assembly of the gloves is often delayed, preventing optimum manufacturing time.
One solution to this problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,577 to Ida et al., which discloses an attachment structure for attaching a fastener member to the wrist of a glove body. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A, the fastener member of the 577 patent ends at or before the left edge of the attachment device, and the attachment device can contact the wearer""s skin and cause discomfort. As shown in FIG. 1A, because the fastener member ends at or before the left edge of the attachment device, the overlap of the fastener member and corresponding fastener material on the glove body is limited and may impair the ability of the glove to securely close over small hands. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a golf glove with a removable upper piece of fastener material that is easy to use, comfortable, and does not limit the adjustability of the glove. The present invention provides such a glove.
The present invention is directed to a glove having a removable and interchangeable fastener material. The glove includes a body with a slit therein, a first attachment member attached to the body adjacent the slit, and a first piece of material. The first piece of material has a second attachment member attached thereto. The second attachment member is removably attachable to the first attachment member.
The first piece of material optionally has a flap portion and an extended portion. The extended portion extends from a slit side of the first attachment member substantially beyond an interior side of the first attachment member, preferably by at least about 0.25 inches, more preferably by between about 0.25 inches and about 1 inches, and most preferably by at least about 1 inch. The flap portion may fold over the slit.
The first piece of material includes a first fastener piece, and the glove includes a second fastener piece located thereon that me be removably affixed to the first fastener piece. Preferably, the flap portion and the extended portion are one piece of material.
According to one embodiment, one of the attachment members includes at least one socket and the other attachment member includes at least one socket plug capable of locking engagement with the at least one socket.
According to a different embodiment, one of the attachment members includes a rod oriented substantially parallel to the slit and the other attachment member includes a sleeve slidable with respect to the rod for retaining the members together. These attachment members are rotatable with respect to one another about the rod. Optionally, a stop may be formed on one of the members to block the sleeve from sliding longitudinally along the rod in a predetermined direction.
The present invention is also directed to a glove having a set of removable and interchangeable first pieces with different designs or logos thereon.